KATHMANDU: A Nepali sherpa scaled Mount Everest for a record 27th time last week, beating his own record, a government official and his hiking company said. Kami Rita Sherpa, 53, scaled the 8,849 metre (29,032-foot) mountain early in the morning along the traditional southeast ridge route, guiding a foreign climber.
"Yes, Kami Rita climbed Sagarmatha for the 27th time," said Department of Tourism official Bigyan Koirala, referring to the mountain by its Nepali name. Ishwari Paudel of the Himalayan Guides company said British climber Kenton Cool, 49, made his 17th ascent of the mountain, the most by any foreign climber. "Cool is now descending after guiding his own private client," Paudel said.
Thaneswar Guragai, general manager of the Seven Summit Treks, for which Kami Rita works, said he got to the summit along with the foreign climber. "We're trying to get details. For now it's 100% confirmed that Kami Rita scaled for the 27th time,” Guragai said.
Kami Rita, who refers to himself by his first names, scaled Everest for the first time in 1994 and has climbed it almost every year since then, except in 2014, 2015 and 2020, when climbing was halted for various reasons.
Garrett Madison of the US-based Madison Mountaineering company, who has climbed Everest 12 times, five of them with Kami Rita, described him as a "very strong climber. Very inspirational to see a local climber continue pushing the limits on Mount Everest," Madison said from Everest's base camp, where he is preparing for a 13th ascent.
Kami Rita's company said in a statement he had "dedicated his life to mountaineering and has become synonymous with the world's highest peak". Sherpas are known for their climbing skills and many make a living guiding foreign clients up Everest and other mountains.